Honningkagehjerter #ChristmasCookies

December always means Christmas cookies. Lots and lots of Christmas cookies. I was excited to see that Ellen at Family Around the Table was organizing a week-long event surrounding cookies. She has also created a giveway from one of our event sponsors. More on that soon! For now, I hope you enjoy the recipes my fellow bloggers have shared to celebrate the cookie season. Get baking!

Friday's Cookie Tray

• Almond Spice Christmas Wreath Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Black Forest Brownies by Palatable Pastime
• Chewy M&M Cookies by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Chocolate Orange Blossoms by Family Around the Table
• Chocolate Marshmallow Meltaways by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Gingerbread Madeleines by Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
• Greek Baklava by House of Nash Eats
• Honningkagehjerter by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Lemon Ginger Crinkle Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Lemon Pizzelle Della Sondra by Girl Abroad
• Grandmas Lily’s Thumbprints by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mocha Biscotti by Books n’ Cooks
• No Bake Christmas Tree Cookies by Cooking with Carlee
• No-Bake Eggless Chocolate Salami by All That’s Jas
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Simple and Savory
• Peppermint Meltaway Cookies by Making Miracles
• Peppermint Sandies by Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids
• Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies by Soulfully Made
• The Old Fashioned Cookie by Making the Most of Naptime
• White Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by The Bitter Side of Sweet

Honningkagehjerter &Apologies
I am apologizing, in advance, to my favorite Danes because I have taken my usual culinary liberties with this traditional Danish Christmas gingerbread cookie. Undskyld på forhånd! Sorry in advance, Rikke, Mette, Ulla, Danya, and Stella.

Honningkagehjerter = Honning (honey) + kage (cake) + hjerter (hearts)

If you plan to make this, please read through completely. The dough must sit, refrigerated, for two days before it can be rolled and baked. So, don't plan on making and baking these on the same day.

There is something magical about making Honningkagehjerter dough. The texture. The scent. It's magnificent. It's hard to wait the two days to bake them...

One thing that posed challenging - the original recipe calls for hjorthornssalt which is baker's ammonia; hjorthornssalt was originally made from the ground antlers of reindeer. I substituted baking powder and hoped for the best.

Part I

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 C organic light brown sugar
• 1/2 C honey (I used a pine honey)
• 1/2 C blackstrap molasses
• 1-1/4 C butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• 2 t ground cloves
• 2 t ground ginger
• 2 t ground cardamom
• 8 C flour
• 2 t baking powder

Procedure

Place sugar, honey, molasses, and butter in a saucepan and cook until the butter is melted. Whisk the eggs and spices into the mix. Sift flour with baking powder and knead the dough thoroughly. Wrap and place in the refrigerator for two days.

Part II

So after the dough has been in the fridge for two days, pull the dough out and let it come to room temperature to make it easier to roll. Roll the dough out between pieces of parchment paper.

Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place them on a baking stone. Bake at 370 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Let cool completely then melt semisweet chocolate in a double-boiler. Paint the tops of the cookies with a layer of chocolate.

For a more traditional look, press decorative bits of paper into the chocolate before it cools completely. Here's what Honningkagehjerter look like when they are made by a real Dane...

And here's what they look like when they are made by an American of Filipino descent who learned to cook in Italy...

This is the version I made for #ChristmasCookies Week.